Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson II set for UFC 177 in Las Vegas

The rematch the MMA world has been talking about since this past September now has a date and a home – likely, anyway.

Jon Jones will rematch Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 177 on Aug. 30 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. UFC officials made the announcement on Saturday night after an initial report from ESPN.com.

But there’s a catch right now. Only Gustafsson has agreed to the fight. But UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta told ESPN the fight is planned for UFC 177 once Jones signs on.

Gustafsson (16-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) gave Jones (20-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) his toughest test yet in MMA this past September at UFC 165, dropping a narrow unanimous decision that had both fighters in the hospital after the bout.

The UFC planned on a rematch – pending wins for each fighter in their next bouts. In March, Gustafsson took care of his half of the bargain, knocking out Jimi Manuwa in London. And a month ago in Baltimore, Jones dominated Glover Teixeira at UFC 172 to set up the rematch.

There was talk that perhaps the UFC would book the title fight for its planned return to Sweden, Gustafsson’s home country, on Oct. 4. But instead, it will put the fight on in its home base of Las Vegas.

Jones has established himself as arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world on the strength of 11 straight wins – eight of them in title fights, with seven successive defenses. Gustafsson had six straight wins before his close loss to Jones, but got right back on track against Manuwa.